To Take What Is Rightfully Ours

Chapter 38. Dealing with Flowers and Threats

Gwayne wasn't sure why precisely he agreed to bring his father documents about the new recruits, considering they were technically none of Otto's business. Maybe it was because his father actually asked nicely for them and it threw Gwayne off balance so he agreed. It was way either to tell him to go fuck himself when he was being a dick.

Gwayne sighed and dropped the papers on top of Otto's table. His father wasn't in his chambers which gave him a perfectly reasonable excuse to avoid talking to him. So Gwayne turned to leave when he accidentally hit the wooden box on the table with his hand and the turtle figurine and some folded piece of paper fell on the floor.

'Ugh,' Gwayne groaned in annoyance and bent to pick them up.

If he was a better person, he would have just put everything back and left. But he was raised by Otto Hightower (well, more or less) which made him just a tiny bit nosy. So he put the turtle on the table and unfolded the piece of paper, skimming through it.

It was a list. Moreover, it was a list of ideas that Gwayne deemed romantic from the context because even though some of them were compatible with the traditional understanding of wooing someone, others were definitely out there. But he supposed what could be deemed romantic depended heavily on the person you were pursuing.

'You gotta be fucking kidding me,' Gwayne couldn't help but chuckle. There weren't any names or other indicators as to who his father was trying to pursue but Gwayne knew. Because there was literally no other woman in the Known World who could make Otto Hightower write this fucking list .

He folded the paper and put it back down, then turned and walked out. Well, almost walked out. Gwayne paused at the doorway, thought about, thought about it again, then shrugged, 'Huh, why not?' and rushed back to the table. He grabbed a list and a pen and scribbled down a few sentences hurriedly because now he definitely didn't want to get caught.

After reviewing what he had written, Gwayne folded a paper back again, put it on the wooden box, and put the turtle on top of it (his father really seemed to like this particular one, considering he always kept it at his table).

'And at this very moment he lost all the rights to say that I am not a good son,' Gwayne cheerfully informed the turtle before walking out.

***

When Otto returned to his chambers, he was pleased to see that his son had already dropped off a few documents he requested. The increase of brothel tax was planned, and Otto was sure that Daemon would ask for more funding for golden cloaks. And now that Diane was back, he was also sure she would tell her father all the right things to say to sound reasonable in his requests (or demands most likely).

Despite the general opinion of him, Otto was not a petty person. Or maybe he was but he made a point of not being unreasonably petty. The brothel tax had been a risky idea in the first place but it worked and now that they were raising it (not by a lot but still), it could cause some pushback. Daemon would offer to increase the amount of golden cloaks in Flea Bottom to take care of that. The idea that would be easy to sell... you give the Crown more money, they give you more protection in return. But was it double? Affordable? After all, the Crown had other needs despite giving the golden cloaks money.

If Otto was honest, he didn't really have a stance on that matter. It would be easy to try and shut down Daemon's imminent proposal, but Diane definitely wouldn't find it surprising. So Otto asked his son to bring him some documents so he would at least get a chance to estimate the financial part of it and maybe make up his mind beforehand.

Otto was skimming through the numbers when he noticed that his favorite turtle (he never called it that out loud but of course it was) was out of place. It still stood on the wooden box but it was angled wrong, facing the wrong direction. And he would have never put it like that. Which meant someone else did.